ABSTRACT
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was born into exile; and he remained all his life a kind of disinherited spirit. His parents were English and newcomers to Ireland. Swift seems to have regarded this normal family aid as a form of charity, and this was something his proud nature found it hard to brook. There is Swift born, or as he put it 'dropped', in Ireland by a 'perfect accident'. There is the loss of his father, dependence on relatives, a chequered career at school and college. The Tale generates its energy by conducting a galvanic knockabout with its own inner workings. As the new century dawned, Swift consolidated his position. He obtained some minor official appointments and one substantial living near Trim. Swift is much more widely admired as a poet now than he was a generation or two ago. His works of the 1730s are held in particularly high regard.
